You Can't Say Murder in a Theater!
by Deadalive15
Summary: Shawn and Juliet go undercover to investigate the disappearance of two leading actors in the play, Macbeth. Shules in later chapters, not yet sure how much. K just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

So, this is my first Psych fanfic, I usually write House. There will be Shules in later chapters, but I'm not sure how much. Please review.

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You Can't Say Murder in a Theater!

Chapter 1

"I told you, Gus," Shawn said as they walked through the doors of the Santa Barbara Police Department that Thursday morning. "The bunny goes around the tree and then into the hole."

"Stop it, Shawn," Gus replied. "I know how to tie my shoes."

"Sure," Shawn answered. "Now that I've already tied them. And was that an eye roll. Have you forgotten who kissed your boo boos until we were in junior high?"

"Spencer!" Chief Vick called through the open door of her office before Gus could make a comeback.

"See how she called me and not you?" Shawn asked as then turned toward the office. "That's because she likes me better."

"Does not, Shawn," Gus argued as they walked through the door.

"Ah, Chief," Shawn opened his arms. "To what do we owe this early morning pleasure. Jules, Lassie," he took a small bow in each direction after realizing that he and Gus were not alone with the Chief.

"Spencer, Gustor," Chief Vick began to explain. "We have a case."

"A case!" Shawn exclaimed. "Gus, did you hear that? A case! Lassie, Jules, a case!"

"Spencer!" the chief said.

"Sorry Chief," Shawn said, clearing his throat. Lassiter smiled smugly. Juliet attempted to hide a smile.

"You may know of the Velez Family Theater," the chief began.

"The one that's about as old as Santa Barbara?" Lassiter asked. "I was in the _Sound of Music_ there, as a boy," he reminisced. "I was Kurt von Trapp. They said I was the best they'd seen. I suggested I come back in a few years to audition for Friedrich, but I—"

"As interesting as this story is Lassiter," the chief interrupted. "I'm afraid there are more important matters at hand. The theater is attempting to put on a production of Shakespeare's _Macbeth_."

"Attempting?" Juliet asked.

"Two of their actors missed dress rehearsal this morning," the chief explained. "It seems that without them, the show will have to be canceled.

"Which to actors went missing?" Lassiter asked.

"The ones playing Macbeth and Lady Macbeth," Chief Vick answered. "It's two late to call in understudies, and with their leading couple missing…"

"Is this the case?" Shawn asked. The chief nodded. "Chief," Shawn stood up. "You have my word. I'll have them back by opening night," he paused. "When is opening night?"

"Tonight," the chief answered.

"Chief, you have my word," he began again. "I'll have them back by closing night."

"The victims are Zachary Taylor and Ashley Waters," Shawn read. "It says here they're the youngest ever starting couple at that theater. Ashley has been acting for eleven years. She's been in fifteen plays and musicals. Zachary has been in twenty plays and musicals over fourteen years. His last role was Link Larkin in _Hairspray_. She was Penny. Tell me Lassie, how many plays have you been in?"

"One," Lassie snapped. "Which is still more than you."

"On the contrary," Shawn replied. "I was in three school plays in my day. I was told I was quite good, in fact. And my senior year, I was Romeo."

"Who was your Juliet?" Juliet asked.

"I was still younger than him," Lassiter stated, before Shawn could answer.

"His first role was Chip in _Beauty and the Beast_," Gus read. "He was five. Oh look, and Ashley started at five too. Her first performance was the _Sound of Music_. How many times has this theater put on that musical?"

"Well, it's a classic," Lassiter explained. "They show it every ten years."

"Zachary Taylor and Ashley Waters went missing after rehearsal last night. It ended at ten. Zachary's roommates said they expected him home shortly after midnight, because he was supposed to go out with his girlfriend afterwards. She says he didn't show up. Ashley's parents said she knew she was expected home before eleven. They called all her friends and everyone at the theater. None of them knew where she was," Juliet read.

"Well Spencer?" Lassiter probed impatiently.

"I need to see the people that made these statements," Shawn announced. "Where can I find them?"


	2. Chapter 2

Next chapter! Again, I love reviews.

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Chapter 2

"Zach didn't really talk to us anymore," one of Zachary Taylor's roommates said. Shawn and Gus were sitting on beanbags in the apartment Zachary Taylor shared with two friends, both of whom were sitting across from them on a blow-up couch. "I mean, we used to be tight. We made these plans freshman year, but then he kind of stopped talking to us. We didn't even think he was still in until a couple of weeks before graduation. He was all like 'Josh, Andy, did you get our apartment yet?' like he'd been with us all along."

Josh Shoals and Andy Claiborne didn't exactly look like the kind of people that someone like Zachary Taylor would be associated with. They both had long hair and wore beanies and skateboard shoes. Josh wore a Led Zeppelin t-shirt, while Andy had an Aerosmith one.

"I'm seeing a girlfriend," Shawn said. "Was he seeing someone? Anything serious?"

"Amanda," Josh scoffed, looking at Andy.

"Right," Andy replied. She turned back to Shawn and Gus. "Zach was seeing this girl, Amanda Wright. Zach told us she was a musician, so we're like, 'Dude, that's so dope. Go for it,' right? But then we find out she plays the piano and like, composes music and stuff, and she's apparently writing a musical and doing all the music and everything herself."

"But of course, Zach is totally down with that, 'cause you know how he is," Josh continued. "And he's all like, 'Why don't you like my girlfriend?' and we're like, 'Dude, she's a dork.' Who likes those artsy kids anyway?"

"Can I see Zach's room?' Shawn asked.

"Why?" Josh asked.

"Dude, he's a psychic," Andy elbowed him.

"Yeah, come on, dude," Shawn said. "Show a little respect."

"Sorry," Josh replied. "Right this way."

Zach's room was much cleaner than the rest of the apartment. The first thing Shawn noticed, the first thing anyone would notice, were the posters, a dozen of them, for musicals.

"Zach was in all of those," Andy said, as if he'd read Shawn's mind.

"That's not Zach's keyboard," Josh said, surprised, as if he'd just noticed it.

"It must be Amanda's," Andy reasoned. "She doesn't go anywhere without that thing?" he told Shawn and Gus.

"Is this her?" Shawn picked up a picture of a boy with curly black hair wearing a striped polo, presumably Zach, and a girl with long, straight hair, light brown with highlights, and narrow black horn-rimmed glasses, cheek to cheek.

"Uh," Josh said, craning his neck to see the picture. "Yep, that'd be her."

"Man, if it hadn't been for that other girl that went missing too, I would just think he left," Andy commented. "Zach kept talking about how he wanted to get out of here, called us slobs."

"Yeah, who's that other girl that's missing," Josh asked. "She played Zach's wife?"

"Ashley Waters?" Gus answered.

"Yeah, yeah," Josh replied. "I hope you find her. She was what, like sixteen? Josh talked about her, said she was nice, really cute, you know? Young."

"He said she was a great actress," Andy added. "Like she'd go places and stuff."

"I know he thought she was better than he was," Josh said. "I think he was jealous."

"Tell me," Shawn said, holding up the picture again. "Do you know where we can find Amanda?"

"Are you sure she's here?" Gus whispered to Shawn as they approached an auditorium at the College of Letters and Science at the University of California—Santa Barbara.

"They said she would be, Gus," Shawn answered.

"But do you really trust those two, Shawn?" Gus asked.

"Gus, just because they decided to skateboard and play video games instead of get jobs doesn't mean they aren't trust worthy," Shawn replied.

"I bet you know that from experience," Gus muttered.

"Look, there she is," Shawn said, pointing to a girl sitting at the piano on the stage. Gus ran to catch up.

"Are you Amanda Wright?" Shawn called as he approached her. She pushed away from the piano to look at them. "It is," Shawn whispered to Gus. "It's her."

"Amanda," Gus said, taking on a professional tone. "We're just here to ask you some questions about your boyfriend, Zachary Taylor."

"I already talked to the police," Amanda replied.

"We're not the police," Shawn said. "I'm a psychic."

"Then shouldn't you just be able to read my thoughts?" Amanda asked.

"Um, that's not quite how it works," Shawn answered. "Gus, why don't you…"

"So Amanda," Gus tried another tactic. "You're a student here?"

"That's right," Amanda answered shortly.

"What's your major?" Gus asked.

"Two of them," Amanda replied. "Music composition and theater, concentration in playwriting."

"Was Zach a student here too?" Gus asked.

"Yes," Amanda answered. "He was also a theater major, but with emphasis on acting."

"What did Zach tell you about Ashley Waters?" Shawn asked.

"What kind of things are you talking about?" Amanda replied.

"Anything," Gus answered.

"Look, if you're waiting for me to tell you he slept with her, I won't, because he didn't," Amanda said.

"Why would you think we would want to her that?" Gus asked.

"I watch TV," Amanda shrugged. "That's all anyone ever wants to know when someone's gone missing. Who else were they sleeping with? That must be the culprit, or maybe the jealous girlfriend. Sorry, can't help you."

"She's right, you know," Shawn said to Gus. "So, what's your musical about?" he asked.

"How did you know I'm writing a musical?" Amanda asked.

"Hello?" Shawn said. "I'm psychic?"

"It's about a man whose wife get murdered," Amanda began to explain. "And he goes to all his lovers to find out which one had enough motive to do it."

"How appropriate," Shawn commented.

"Meanwhile, his wife's ghost follows him and offers impute," Amanda finished. "Zach was supposed to be the husband when I finished."

"Who was going to be the wife?" Gus asked.

"Good question," Shawn commended him.

"Zach wanted Ashley to do it," Amanda said, a hint of resentment in her voice. She covered it well. "He said she was a really good actress."

"What her his exact words?" Shawn asked.

"She said she was," Amanda sighed. "He said she was like nothing he'd ever seen."

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" Shawn asked, raising his eyebrows. "You know, there's a reason they use it as a motive on all those TV shows."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"We got several motives for Zach's kidnapping from his friends," Shawn said. "Now let's see what we get from Ashley's family." They were approaching the large, white house where Ashley Waters' family lived. The lawn and garden were perfectly kept, just like every other house on the street. The cars in the driveway were clean and shiny, new-looking.

"Hello?" a woman with short red hair came to the door.

"Mrs. Waters, I presume?" Shawn joked.

"Shawn!" Gus whisper-yelled. He turned back to Mrs. Waters, a polite smile on his face. "We're here to ask about Ashley."

"She's always loved to act," Mrs. Waters told them once they were sitting on the couch in the spotless family room, Mr. Waters, a man with thinning light blond hair, at her side. "She was in the _Sound of Music_ when she was five, and ever since, we haven't been able to keep her away from auditions. She's been in five plays and ten musicals."

"Her favorite was _Grease_, when she was thirteen," Mr. Waters added. "I think she liked all the dancing."

"Ashley has a beautiful voice," Mrs. Waters said. "She's auditioning for _Wicked_ in the spring, for Elphaba. She's very confident."

"And next fall they're doing _Doubt_," Mr. Waters said. "Ashley wants to be Sister James."

"Ashley's one of six, isn't she?" Shawn asked.

"Yes, she's the third," Mr. Waters answered. "How did you know."

"I'm a psychic, sir," Shawn answered nonchalantly.

"I guess she always felt like she had to do a little something extra to be noticed around here," Mr. Waters sighed.

"How did her siblings feel about her success?" Shawn asked.

"They're very supportive," Mr. Waters answered. "We all go to see Ashley perform, except our oldest. She's at school in New York. And our youngest daughter absolutely idolizes her. She was in the_ Sound of Music_ this last time, as Marta."

"You have only one son if I'm correct," Shawn said.

"Yes," Mrs. Waters answered. "Spencer, he's eighteen, living in the basement."

"Working at Pizza Hut?" Shawn asked.

"Yes," Mr. Waters said. "He graduated in the top five percent in his class. He could have gone to Columbia like his sister. Now that's someone whose got her priorities straight, pre-law. But instead, he decides to live in our basement and deliver pizzas."

"So, as successful as Ashley was, your pride still rests with your oldest daughter?" Gus asked.

"We're proud of Ashley," Mrs. Waters answered. "It's just that Lauren's come so far. You know, she had trouble reading when she was younger, and she was the oldest, which meant that she had to baby-sit instead of studying on weeknights."

"Lauren's life was harder," Gus nodded. "And your younger daughters?"

"Well, we already told you, Mackenzie idolizes Ashley," Mrs. Waters said.

"Is that some anger?" Shawn asked. "Would you rather she not?"

"We'd rather she idolized Lauren," Mr. Waters answered.

"Did Ashley know you felt this way?" Gus asked.

"Look," Mr. Water said. "We're not saying we aren't happy with Ashley for pursuing a career in theater rather than a more respectable job. If it's her dream she should go for it. She's got the natural talent, and she was never great in school. But we don't want Mackenzie doing that, too. She's such a smart girl, straight A's all the way through second grade. If she keeps it up, she'll be on the fast track to the Ivy Leagues."

"I see," Shawn thought for a minute. "And Ashley's other younger sisters?"

"Well," Mrs. Waters thought. "Kayla is very involved in sports. She'll be going into high school next year, and she's sure to make the junior varsity teams in soccer and basketball at least. Probably volleyball, we'll see about softball. Sophia is more like Lauren than any of the others, except she wants to be a doctor. Then again, so did Spencer until he graduated."

"But how do they feel about Ashley?" Shawn asked.

"They enjoy going to her shows," Mrs. Waters said. "Not as much as Mackenzie, of course. The only time either of them has ever had a problem was when we had to miss Kayla in the championships to see Ashley in _High School Musical_, but that was two years ago."

"Mrs. Waters," Gus said. "Do you think Spencer's lack of motivation has anything to do with Ashley's success?" The couple exchanged shocked glances.

"Mr. and Mrs. Waters," Shawn said, standing up. "Can you take me to Spencer's room?"

"Spencer, come up here!" Mr. Waters immediately called.

"Why do you need to talk to Spencer?" Mrs. Waters asked, looking worried. "Surely you don't think he did this."

"No," Shawn assured her. "We just need to talk to him. Just to get a better handle on Ashley."

A boy with short blond hair in a dark hoodie appeared in the doorway. "What?" he asked.

"Spencer," Mrs. Waters said, turning to face her son. "This is Shawn and Gus. They're helping us find Ashley. They need to talk to you."

"What for?" Spencer demanded. "Am I a suspect now. What did you tell them?"

"Don't worry," Shawn called. "You're not in any trouble. I just have some questions about your sister." Spencer hesitantly made his way over to the couch. Shawn nodded at Mr. and Mrs. Waters to leave.

"So, you sister," Shawn began. "She gets a lot of attention."

"Yeah," Spencer agreed. "Not as much as I got when I decided not to go to college."

"Is that why you did it?" Shawn asked. Spencer shrugged. "So, what about your sister?" Shawn continued. "How much trouble would be be willing to go to to be the center of attention?"

"She didn't do this for attention," Spencer said quickly. "Ashley wasn't like that. We were close, all those years we spent being overshadowed by Lauren. She wasn't an attention seeker. Besides, with Lauren in New York, Ashley was the center of attention. In fact, I think it kind of overwhelmed her. When Lauren left, all that residual attention fell on her. I think she encouraged Mackenzie to audition so she would have someone to share the spotlight with."

"So Ashley didn't start acting for attention?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"No, of course not," Spencer exclaimed. "She did it because she loved it."

"Spencer," Gus said, leaning forward and lowering his voice. "Did Ashley share things with you that she didn't tell your parents?"

"Yeah, of course," Spencer answered. "What did you think we talked about?"

"Did she ever mention Zach Taylor?" Gus asked.

"The better question would be, did she ever not mention Zach," Spencer replied. "She had this huge thing for him. It was cute. He had a girlfriend and all, so we both knew it wasn't going anywhere."

"Did she know that?" Shawn asked.

"Of course," Spencer answered. "Look, Ashley may not have been great in school, but she was a smart girl. She knew he was too old for her. It was harmless."

"How long had she and Zach known each other?" Shawn asked. "I'm seeing other productions."

"Yeah, they were in a bunch of shows together," Spencer answered. "I think their first was _Tommy_ when Ashley was six. I remember seeing Zach. He had some voice, even then. He was only nine."

"Spencer, you've been quiet helpful," Shawn said. Gus nodded agreeably. "Keep in touch. Gus…"

"What?" Gus asked.

"Give him a card," Shawn said, nodding at Spencer Waters.

"Shawn," Gus whispered. "You know I only give cards to attractive women."

"What if he needs to contact us?" Shawn replied.

"It's got my personal cell phone number in the back," Gus argued. The two retreated into one of their whisper-fights, which invariably ended with Gus giving Spencer a card.


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, so I'm on chapter 4 and so far I have no reviews. Come on, guys. I'll still keep writing of course, but it's quite disheartening.

PS. I know so far they haven't done much, but I promise it should get better once they're undercover.

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Chapter 4

"Mr. Spencer," the chief said, turning from Lassiter and Juliet to Shawn and Gus. "What do you have for us?"

"I'm getting a very close relationship," Shawn said, holing his fingers to his forehead. "Like they've known each other for a long time. There were some…feelings between them."

"Well," Juliet said, trying to put pieces together. "They could have run away together. That doesn't seem like a very solid explanation. Both of Zach's roommates said he seemed pretty content with her girlfriend."

"I'm feeling a lot of resentment," Shawn continued. "From Zach towards his roommates. From Ashley towards her parents."

"Maybe they did run away together," Lassiter agreed.

"Zach's roommates did say that the theater was the only thing keeping Zach around," the chief said. "But it just doesn't fit together."

"Chief, I need to see that theater," Shawn suddenly said. "I'm getting some very string vibes telling me the answer is in there."

"I can get a warrant," the chief said. "Detective O'Hara, Detective Lassiter—"

"No way," Lassiter interrupted. "These actors, some have been working together for decades. Both Mr. Taylor and Miss Waters have been at that theater for over ten years. They'll be too loyal to each other to tell outsiders anything."

"What are you saying, Detective?" Chief Vick asked. "That we should just give up?"

"No, Chief, how long have you known me," Lassiter seemed surprised. "No, what I'm say is that we need to get someone in there. Someone who knows the business. Someone who can slip in seamlessly."

"Someone like you?" the chief asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Thank you Chief," Lassiter said, happily. "I knew you'd see it my way."

"No, wait," Shawn said, holding out his arms. "Chief, with all do respect, someone who knows the business? He was in one play when he was eight. You need to get someone way more experienced in there."

"Someone who was in four plays in high school?" Chief Vick asked. "Thank you for volunteering, Mr. Spencer. I'll call the director and tell them I'm sending over a replacement Macbeth."

"But Chief!" Lassiter protested.

"Carlton!" the chief said, shutting him up. "Of course, Mr. Spencer, since you aren't a police officer, I can't send you in their without one working with you."

"Perfect," Shawn said, grinning and turning to Juliet. "I do still need a Lady Macbeth."

"Do you have any theater experience, Detective O'Hara?" Chief Vick asked.

"Well," Juliet looked away. "I've been in some plays in my day. In my senior year, I was Juliet Capulet."

"Who was your Romeo?" Shawn asked, alluding to the conversation they'd had that morning. Juliet smiled and looked away.

"Now, you do both have a tendency to get a little carried away when you're undercover, so I need you to both try and keep a hold on yourselves," the chief warned.

"Yes ma'am," Juliet replied.

"I'll call the director," Chief Vick said. "Get everything set up."

"Kelvin Greene," Shawn read as the left the station. "Do you think that's his real name, Jules?"

"I don't know, Shawn," Juliet sighed.

"Because if it is, that must suck," Shawn continued.

"Shawn, let's just get our story straight, okay?" Juliet said. "You're Scott Winslow, right?"

"I hail from LA," Shawn continued. "I've always wanted to act but I came down to Santa Barbara when I realized movies weren't for me. I have a seventeen-year-old half-sister, Emily, who lives in LA with my mom and step-dad, and a beagle named Ryan. You're turn."

"Wow, Shawn, I'm impressed," Juliet answered. "Okay, I'm Rachel Steward. I'm from the suburbs of Chicago, but I wanted to live somewhere warm. I'm the fourth of five children. I have two cats."

"And what are their names?" Shawn asked.

"Tiger and Snowball," Juliet smiled.

"The most generic cat names ever," Shawn commented. "It least my beagle's name is cool."

"Your fictional beagle," Juliet muttered.

"See you at rehearsal tomorrow," Shawn called as he headed for Gus' little blue car.

"Ten am sharp," Juliet replied, and with that, they departed.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, sorry about the wait. Christmas and all. Anyway, they're finally undercover. Still no reviews. Happy reading!

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Chapter 5

"Okay, listen up everyone!" The director walked out to center stage. Kelvin Greene was about Shawn's height with sandy blond hair and an extremely pale complexion. He looked down at the rest of the cast and crew, who were sitting in the auditorium. "This is Scott Winslow and Rachel Steward. They're hear to replace Zach and Ashley as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. I've been assured by their previous theaters that they're the best."

"I thought we were canceling the performances," a balding man who had recently had laser eye surgery judging by the glasses impressions on his nose bridge called from the second row.

"Not canceling," Kelvin answered. "Delaying, until these two know the script."

"It this going to affect the rehearsal schedule for Wicked?" asked a woman who straightened her hair far too often.

"Auditions for Wicked will be in February as scheduled," Kelvin replied.

"What about Mr. Donahue?" asked a man who, from the looks of it, had had his left ear pierced until the earring had been ripped out. "Did he approve this?"

"Yes," Kelvin answered. "In fact, he'll be down this afternoon to meet Scott and Rachel for himself. He likes to meet all of his actors," Kelvin added, turning to Shawn and Juliet, both of whom nodded, even though they were fairly certain that this was not the reason he was coming to meet them.

"Let's see a demonstration," called a boy who had clearly just gotten his braces off because of how he was running his lips over his teeth. Kelvin turned to them.

"Do you have anything prepared?" he asked quietly. Shawn and Juliet looked at each other.

"Romeo and Juliet!" Shawn suddenly exclaimed.

"Right," Juliet replied. "We were both in productions of Romeo and Juliet," she explained to Kelvin.

"Good, go," he said, starting to move towards the curtain.

"What scene should we do?" Juliet whispered to Shawn.

"The balcony scene, of course," Shawn answered.

"Shawn," Juliet sighed.

"Fine," Shawn replied. "How about Act I, scene V?"

"Shawn," Juliet repeated.

"Come on, Jules," Shawn said. "If we expect these people to take us seriously as actors, we have to show them something convincing."

"Fine," Juliet sighed. "The balcony scene."

"But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?" Shawn began, turning to face Juliet, who had stepped up onto a stack of wooden planks that had been left on stage by the set crew. "It is the east, and Juliet is the sun."

As Shawn continued, Juliet scanned the crowd. She noticed that the cast seemed to sit on one side, while the crew sat on the other. "Aye me!" she said when Shawn paused.

"She speaks," Shawn gasped. "O, speak again, bright angel!" He continued, beginning another smaller monologue.

"O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" She called when it was her turn. "Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet"

"Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?" he said, turning away from Juliet to portray an aside.

"'Tis a name that is my enemy," Juliet began. "Thou art thyself, not a Montague." She began her first short speech, Shawn, all the while, watching from below. "Take all myself," she finished. Shawn stepped up onto the stack of wood, and Juliet took a step back in surprise. Shawn noticed.

"Calm down, Jules," he whispered. "I take thee at thy word," he continued more loudly. "Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; henceforth I never will be Romeo."

"What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in night," Juliet said. "So stumblest on my counsel?"

"By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am," Shawn answered. "My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, because it is an enemy to thee; had I it written, I would tear the word."

"My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound," Juliet said. "Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?"

"Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike," Shawn replied.

"Who camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?" Juliet asked. "The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, and the place death, considering who thou art, if any of my kinsmen find thee here."

"With love's light wings I did o'er-perch these walls," Shawn said, moving closer. "For stony limits cannot hold love out, and what love can do that dares love attempt; therefore thy kinsmen are no let to me."

"If they do see thee, they will murder thee," Juliet whispered loudly, taking a step back."

"Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye than twenty of their swords," Shawn said. "Look thou but sweet, and I am proof against their enmity."

"I would not for the world they saw thee here," Juliet replied.

"I have night's cloak to hide me from their sight; and but thou love me, let them find me here," Shawn said, slipping his arm around Juliet's shoulders. "My life were better ended by their hate, than death prorogued, wanting of thy love."

"By who's direction found'st thou out this place?" Juliet asked.

"By love, who first did prompt me to inquire; he lent me counsel and I lent him eyes," Shawn explained, moving his face much closer to Juliet's. "Calm down," he repeated when her felt her stiffen. "It needs to look convincing. I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far as that vast shore wash'd with the farthest sea, I would adventure for such merchandise," he finished.

"That's all we have time for," Kelvin interrupted, hurrying back onto the stage as the cast started to break into scattered applause,. "Let's start…let's just start from the beginning and see how far we get, okay people? Let's move."

"I thought that went well," Shawn said, letting go of Juliet.

"Yeah, real well," she replied sarcastically. "Next time, I'm choosing the scene.

"What, Jules? It worked," Shawn said quietly as she started to walk away. "We're in."

She looked back over her shoulder to acknowledge she'd heard him, but continued to walk, leaving him alone at center stage.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys, sorry about the wait. I've had exams, you know. Anyway, I finally go this up, so enjoy! And don't forget to review, believe it or not, it motivates me to write.

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Chapter 6

"Scott, Rachel!" Kelvin called that afternoon. He was standing in his office, a room off the stage that was small enough to have once been a broom closet, poking his head out the door. The room was small enough that with Kelvin's tiny desk and the two plastic chairs sitting in front of it, Shawn and Juliet barely fit in with Kelvin and the man standing next to it.

"Scott, Rachel, this is Albert Donahue, the owner of our theater, Kelvin said hastily. "Mr. Donahue, this is—"

"Save it, Kel," Mr. Donahue said. "I know these two are undercover. The chief called me this morning. Shawn Spencer and Juliet O'Hara, right? Call me Al, just not in front of the other actors."

"Okay, Al, we promise we'll due everything we can to find Zach and Ashley before opening night."

"Do what you can," Al grunted. "Zach and Ash knew what they were getting into when they signed up. To tell you the truth, we're all pretty much used to this."

"Why?" Juliet wrinkled her eyebrows. "Do your actors go missing a lot?"

"Only when we put on this particular play," Al explained. "We've been trying to perform this show for ninety years now. Every time, our Macbeth and Lady Macbeth go missing the day before we're scheduled to open. This time, we even tried rescheduling opening night at the last minute to, but they still went missing."

"What about the actors that went missing in previous years?" Juliet asked.

"Never found," Al shrugged. "Last time it was in 1987, Todd Warner and Julie Daniels, both mid-twenties. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are supposed to be older, but this is a young theater. We use makeup."

"Exactly how many times has this happened?" Juliet ask, narrowing her eyes.

"This makes five," Al sighed. "The first time my grandfather owned the theater, the second and third time was during my father's ownership, and then Todd and Julie and Zach and Ashley." Juliet nodded. "Mr. Spencer, you've been very quiet. Anything to say?"

"Mmm, no," Shawn said, after a minute, shaking his head. "No, I'm good."

"Well," Al said, clapping his hands together. "We about finished?"

"Thank you for your time," Juliet held out her hand.

"O'Hara, Spencer," he nodded his head at each of them before opening the door.

"Bye Al!" Shawn called as he left.

"He won't even let me call him Al," Kelvin muttered.

"Did you know about this?" Juliet asked once the door had swung closed behind Al.

"Know about what?" Kelvin asked, backing up.

"The other Macbeths," Juliet clarified.

"What?" Kelvin asked, surprised. "No, of course not. Mr. Donahue doesn't tell me anything."

"If I find a shred of evidence that you knew," Juliet was saying.

"Wait, Jules," Shawn stuck his arm in front of her. She looked at him quizzically. "I'm getting," he rubbed his fingers against his temples. He hadn't seen anything, but he had to keep Juliet from assaulting Kelvin. "I'm getting that if you go to hall we came through when we first got here, you'll have faces for the previous victims." It wasn't much, but it was all he was willing to disclose without further investigating.

"The back hallway?" Kelvin asked, curious.

"Let's go," Juliet muttered.

"Don't hide things from us," Shawn murmured before stepping out the door. "I'll see it."

He caught up with Juliet in the back hall. "These must be the past victims," Juliet said. She stood in front of a row of pictures.

"It's a tribute," Shawn said. "Set up by the rest of the cast." He spotted the area on the wall where messages had been written to the last victims. They were barely visible after twenty-three years. He could just make them out.

"I can have Lassiter look into these," she whispered.

"He'll find that her husband was investigated," Shawn added, pointing to a woman with curly light hair in the second picture.

"I'll look into it," Juliet said. "What time period does that look like? World War 2 maybe?"

"1944," a voice said from behind them. A woman who looked to be in her mid-forties looked over Shawn's shoulder, the one who must have straightened her hair every day for the past twenty years. "Rose Carver and Henry Knox."

"Who were they?" Juliet asked, remembering to become clueless.

"Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, the second ones," the woman answered.

"What do you mean?" Juliet asked.

"You haven't heard the story?" the woman asked. "They didn't tell you when you got the roles?"

"Clearly not," Shawn answered.

"Every time we try to put on this play, our leading man and lady disappear," she explained. "Never to be heard from again."

"Well that would have been nice to know," Shawn looked Juliet, who looked appropriately shocked and angry.

"Probably not Kelvin's fault," the woman shrugged. "Al does purposely try to keep him out of the loop. Thinks it's funny. Kel doesn't even know that all the rest of us are aloud to call him Al."

"Is there what, like, some bad blood between them or something?" Shawn asked.

"Kelvin didn't exactly inherit the family gift, if you know what I mean," the woman said, suddenly in a hushed tone.

"Wait," Juliet said. "Kelvin and Al are related?"

"Uncle and nephew?" the woman answered.

"Why would they hide that?" Shawn asked Juliet, forgetting for a moment that he was undercover.

"Oh, they don't tell anyone," the woman replied. "But when you've been at a theater as long as I have, you know things no one else does. I watched Kel and his cousin when they were little. They played with my sons. Al practically raised them in this theater, but Kel was…never as talented as his cousin. Jack's a natural-born actor, Al's dream, but then he went up to New York to be a big-shot. We haven't heard from him in ages. Kel probably stands to inherit the theater now."

"Wow," Shawn said, turning to Juliet.

"Did you know any of them?" Juliet asked, gesturing to the portraits on the wall.

"Todd and Julie," the woman nodded to the last portrait. I was in Macbeth with them. Auditioned for Lady Macbeth, didn't get it. They were good people. Todd had a two-year-old little girl. After he disappeared, his wife took her up to Michigan to live near her parents. And I never knew Gloria Murphy," she gestured to the third portrait. "She disappeared before I was born, but she used to live down the street from the house I grew up in. Her boys went to school with my brothers."

"Interesting," Juliet nodded. "I've never known anyone who's disappeared. Of course, I grew up in Illinois, not much going on up there."

"Except the White Sox," Shawn added. "And the mob." Juliet elbowed him.

"Scott Winslow," Shawn held out his hand.

"I know," the woman answered, shaking it. "And Miss Steward. Diana Crosky, Lady Macduff."

"Nice to meet you," Juliet replied.

"Sorry you die at the end," Shawn called as she turned to walk away.

"So do you," Diane reminded him as she turned onto the stage.


End file.
